Agustín Rayo , "the Mexican multiplier" (born 1973) is a Mexican philosopher of logic,

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

, and language. He is the dean of the

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) is one of the five schools of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. The school has over 20 departments, department-level programs, and f ...

and a professor of philosophy. Rayo's number is named after him.

Life

Rayo was raised in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

. He completed a bachelor's degree at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigge ...

in 1996. Rayo earned a Ph.D. at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

in 2001. He was a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. Rayo was an assistant professor of philosophy at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

. In 2005, he joined the

. Rayo was the associate dean from 2016 to 2019. He succeeded

Melissa Nobles Melissa Nobles (born May 13, 1963) is an American political scientist and academic administrator. She is currently Chancellor and Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She previous ...

in 2021 as interim dean. Rayo was elected to the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Unive ...

in 2018. His book, O''n the Brink of Paradox'' (2019) won the 2020

PROSE Award The PROSE Awards (Professional and Scholarly Excellence) are presented by the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) Professional and Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division. Presented since 1976, the awards annually recognize distinguished prof ...

for best textbook in the humanities.

References

Living people People from Mexico City National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty 21st-century Mexican philosophers Philosophers of logic Philosophers of language Metaphysicians Mexican emigrants to the United States University of California, San Diego faculty Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters 1973 births {{Mexico-philosopher-stub